


sunflowers and smokescreens

by sagexx



Category: GOT7
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Homophobia, M/M, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Small Towns, Strangers to Lovers, and jb is secretly dorky, lapslock, misunderstood!jaebum, popular!youngjae, the colour yellow, youngjae is secretly sad, yugbum are brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-01 14:08:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13296501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagexx/pseuds/sagexx
Summary: in which jaebum’s love for youngjae is too big for their small town to handle, but somehow it happens anyways.





	sunflowers and smokescreens

“jaebum?” a shrill screech came from downstairs. jaebum did what most people with siblings tended to do- he gave an exasperated sigh and promptly ignored it. 

“come downstairs!” another screech. they were getting harder and harder to muffle- soon, yugyeom would take his silence as permission to bolt in without knocking. jaebum prepared to lock himself in his room for all of eternity when he heard a, “mom needs you!” 

jaebum jumped to his feet. he could ignore his pest of a brother all he wanted, but when it came to his mother, doing so would come with a vast variety of painful side-effects. then again, how many times has he heard a ‘mom needs you!’ and then came downstairs just to see a water gun pointed at his face? too many to count. his brother always got away with his shenanigans, of course, being the ‘sweet, little, angel’ he was. despite the slim chance that this could be another fake, jaebum reached for the doorknob. he’d regret it if this one time was real.

“fine!” he called, and came barrelling down the stairs. “but i swear, if you’re lying again, i’m gonna kick your ass-“

a smug-looking yugyeom stood at the entrance to the kitchen, no mother in sight. 

“what the fu-“ 

a sharp yell caught him mid-word. “jaebum! language!” his mother scolded from the kitchen, peeking around the corner with one hand on her hip. 

“yes, language!” repeated his brother, sounding akin to a parrot. sometimes it was hard to believe he was only a freshman. it would be far more fitting if he were five years old.

his mother sighed and beckoned them. with a sharp glare at his brother, he trudged into the kitchen. “jaebum, i wish you’d be more productive,” she shuffled around in the pantry. “yugyeom volunteered to help with dinner, and you’re just sitting in your room all day.” 

jaebum bit back a groan. he knew what was coming- an afternoon cooking with yugyeom while his mother criticized the way they cut vegetables. 

“any who,” she closed the pantry. “we ran out of noodles. can you run to the store and buy some?”

sweet relief hit him, but it didn’t last- the last thing he wanted to do today was run errands. it was phrased like a question, but if he knew his mother, it was a demand- a compulsory one at that. jaebum considered his options. he wanted to go back upstairs, but with yugyeom home, he wouldn’t get any peace and quiet for long. 

“he’s too scared to go,” yugyeom taunted. 

“shut up!” jaebum flushed. “i’m not. whatever, i’ll go.” 

_"thank_ you,” his mother said, and handed him a couple of bills before turning back to her cooking. 

jaebum pocketed them and stuck his tongue out at his brother.

~~~

jaebum slung one leg over his bike and rolled down their long stretch of unpaved driveway. a quick trip to the grocery store wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, he thought, if he could keep the extra change for himself.

he peddled through the tiny pathway that acted as a shortcut to their little town plaza. he was lucky enough to live in the busier part of town, where the stores were closer and he didn’t have to wake up early to get to school, but the houses were clumped together in a way that meant the very same classmates he hated were his neighbours. 

sometimes, he craved the freedom that came with living higher up on the hill. an entire ocean’s worth of land and a view of the sunflower fields below…they could be seen down here sometimes, between the houses across the street from them, but in flashes. flashes and eyefuls of tall green stalks weren’t as nice to look at.

but they were all he had for now.

~~~

the library was on the way to the grocery store. it was a short building made out of red brick, and looked just the same as any other building in town, apart from its worn down glass doors. when jaebum wasn’t home, he was here.

the place was a small sanctuary, with its rows of books, grey carpets, and lack of people. he came almost every day- it had everything to do with his favourite books, which demanded to be read over and over, and less to do with the cute boy who worked there, but if he weren’t lying to himself, the ratio would be perfectly halved. 

maybe he’d be working there today. he could be stocking shelves, or sitting at the counter…their hands could brush as he checked out jaebum’s books…

he parked near the doors and shook the dream out of his head. it was wrong to think about, but he gave himself these little moments- these split-second moments and flashes were all he had, and all he’d ever have. 

the air conditioning was harsh after a bike ride’s worth of warm spring air, but after years of scouring these aisles, the cold felt like nothing on his skin. he went to the best aisle- the one near the front with the week’s top picks sitting on it, and scanned the library for a caramel mop of hair. 

it wasn’t there. 

but before jaebum could sink in disappointment, he found something else instead- a brand new book sitting before him in the shelves, shiny and unopened. there was something about the way the sunshine caressed the cover- like it was calling out to be read, like it was meant to be read by _him_ , that made jaebum grab it before he could read the title. 

usually, he was good at holding his compulsions- but this time, he indulged.

~~~

the grocery store was fairly empty. not like it was ever a hot spot- most of the town did its shopping early every sunday, and teens spent weekends fucking around on the roads by the suburbs of town, but there were always outliers- and the outliers were the ones he was worried about. as if they couldn’t settle for watching him in hushed silence, like the rest of the school…he could deal with hushed silence, but not much else.

jaebum dove into the pasta isle and stacked a couple of boxes on top of the book in his arms. just before he turned the corner, he stopped- maybe he should grab another, just in case, yugyeom always had an appetite- then promptly bumped into someone. his pasta boxes clattered to the ground. 

“woah,” a familiar voice exclaimed. the boy turned, running a hand through his mop of caramel hair-jaebum’s heart stuttered. it was choi youngjae- in the flesh and only two steps away from him. he suddenly felt insecure in his ratty white t-shirt.

“sorry.” jaebum meant to mutter apologetically but it sounded more like a snarl. 

“don’t worry about it,” youngjae smiled, the heavens shining down on him as he reached for a couple boxes. 

he bent down with a blush and a quick, “it’s okay, i’ll get them,” but youngjae didn’t reply. instead, he locked his gaze on the book by his feet and fell into a silence- jaebum gave him short glances as he scooped up his pasta, then his book- and only then did he seem to have shaken himself out of his thoughts. 

“did you…” youngjae hesitated. “did you get that from the library?” 

jaebum balanced the pasta in his arms as he stood. “yeah, i did,” he managed to speak despite the fog in his head. 

“right, right,” youngjae stood and smiled again, but this time he looked a bit tense. “hey, i have to get going, but… i’ll see you around!” and without giving jaebum a second to reply, he waved and turned the corner, leaving jaebum feeling dizzy and weak-kneed. 

he hit his back against the wall and gazed and the ceiling lights with unfocused eyes- they were too dim and often flickered, but with youngjae beneath them, they might as well have been sunrays. jaebum took a deep breath to calm his racing breath. 

the things he did to him…

jaebum kept himself contained- it was easier in the library, where his glances could be blocked off by shelves and all youngjae could do was smile at him when he passed, but here, in the middle of the grocery store, with no counter between them and the full impact of his smile, it’d been impossible. he probably came off as sullen and grumpy in the process, but jaebum grinned widely anyways. 

he supposed that was better for him in the long run.

~~~

jaebum’s mother was pleased with him- so pleased, in fact, that she didn’t bother asking for the change that jaebum hid in his pocket or scold him for bringing a book home. instead he got an affectionate cheek pinching and a snicker from yugyeom. jaebum escaped to his room before anything else could be asked of him.

as per routine, he locked his door, hid his change, and settled back in his bed with his book in his hands. however, when he opened it, a paper fluttered out. it read:

__

i’m lonely. text me?  
555-555-5555

__

__  


jaebum just stared.

this…this was not part of his routine.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been itching to write a long 2jae like this for a while now! i adore small town romances so much ahh
> 
> this chapter is a bit short, as it's more of an intro, but following chapters should be longer! hopefully this 2jae won't take a decade to finish like my other one ;-;
> 
> but look!! i learned how to center the ~~~ thingies! im naming my chapters! with all these sudden improvements maybe i'll be able to carry on with regular updates after all ~
> 
> hope u enjoyed!


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